15th Ave Coffee & Tea

At 15th Ave Coffee & Tea in Seattle you can get something most coffee places don't offer.

All of their coffee is brewed the way you like it, either pour over, French Press, La Marzocco or Clover. They offer a variety of unique coffees some of which are grown locally and others are from around the world. Their specialty teas are just as unique and special.

15th Ave Coffee & Teas serves fresh pastries which are baked locally and delivered fresh to the coffee shop every day. During the evening you can get a cup of specialty coffee and enjoy live music from a local artist. An added bonus to this whole experience is the free Wi-Fi and the hip atmosphere.

This one of a kind coffee shop just a short time ago was a neighborhood Starbucks, one of many throughout the Seattle area. This particular location fell victim to Starbucks many closings throughout the country late last year.

Then just this past week the shopped reopened as 15th Ave Coffee & Tea. The ironic part? It's still owned by Starbucks.

That's right, Starbucks closed the store, completed rebranded it as a local coffee shop and then reopened it under a different name. Are they trying to trick us?

Starbucks isn't trying to fool anyone, they're conducting an experiment. When Starbucks became mainstream in the 1990s, their rapid expansion ran many local coffee shops out of business. With their corporate marketing budget and streamlined processes the local joints simply couldn't compete. Now, Starbucks is taking a step back to discover what it destroyed.

For the first time ever they are creating an authentic and local coffee shop that serves up more than just coffee...they're serving a piece of the local culture. By concentrating on everything local, even naming their store after the street their located on, their hoping that they will uncover a new secret about what consumers actually desire.

According to this recent article it seems like this new "local" approach is just the beginning. If the 15th Ave experiment goes like Starbucks has planned, we might all start seeing Starbucks close and reopen as a new creation.

The real question however is if this new local approach is enough to change consumer's opinions about Starbucks. If a local coffee shop owned by Starbucks opens in your neighborhood, would you go there?

More info about the 15th Ave Coffee & Tea shop is available on their website here.

Needs

Restaurants' purpose is to fulfill our needs.

The remarkable restaurants understand this concept. They deliver memorable, revolutionary experiences that make you want to go back again and again.

I need a burger from Five Guys. I need coffee from Dunkin Donuts. I need a bowl from Chipotle. I need teriyaki chicken from Pei Wei.

I don't need Ruby Tuesday's.

The last time I was at Ruby Tuesday's was probably 10 years ago. Since my last visit, they have gone through an extreme re-branding campaign, changing everything about the inside and outside of the restaurant including a complete makeover of the menu.

The inside of the restaurant is gorgeous. They have huge comfortable chairs, cool lighting and servers that look hip and modern. The food on the menu looks spectacular and they offer a guarantee on their hamburgers: if you don't like it they'll replace it. Not to mention all of their burgers come with endless fries. (Very sweet).

Our server was good...he was friendly, attentive and when it took too long for our food to come out he comped all of our drinks.

The food was....ok. We tried a variety of the menu including: the sampler appetizer, spinach and artichoke dip, fried spicy shrimp appetizer, prime cheeseburger and three mini burgers (turkey, crab and hamburger) and the Blondie dessert and chocolate tall cake. Yes, we ate a lot.

From the taste of it I'm going to guess that most of the food was frozen before it was cooked. However, the burger was very juicy and delicious. Although it was juicy it didn't have much flavor or unique taste. The mini turkey burger was awkward and the mini crab cake burger might have still been a little raw.

Generally speaking you could sum up the food with one word: decent. (My wife would probably disagree with me and just tell you it was disgusting seeing how she was violently ill late last night after dinner.)

So what's wrong with decent? Nothing really. Clearly people don't have a problem with mediocre food as Ruby Tuesday was on a wait when we got there.

Maybe I'm the one who's messed up here. We were in a brand new restaurant with good service, a menu that offers a guarantee and endless fries all at a fairly reasonable price, yet I was still unsatisfied.

What's my problem then?

I don't need it. It just wasn't amazing enough. It was just a normal restaurant. I could have gotten the food I had almost anywhere else and it probably would have tasted better. There is nothing special or spectacular about Ruby Tuesday's.

Today when dollars are stretched and "nights out" are limited, every single experience has to be remarkable...it has to fulfill our needs.

So tell me, does Ruby Tuesday do anything for you?

Learning How to Eat

I don't know how to eat.

I realize this may come as a surprise to many of you as I talk about eating on a regular basis. Technically speaking, I do know what to eat, just not how to eat it. Basically what I'm getting at is that my dining etiquette isn't as good as it should be.

Unfortunately this creates a bit of a problem as I often find myself in situations where I'm eating in front of other people. How do you hold a knife and cut? Which glass is mine? Which way does the bread get passed? Can I take more than one piece of bread?

These burning questions and the addition of my "motivating" wife led me to hire an Etiquette Coach. I didn't want to go to Etiquette School with a bunch of 16 year olds so my search took quite some time, however after a few plunges into Google search results I found Patricia Rossi, an Etiquette and Protocol Coach. Her program was exactly what I was looking for: a one time 1.5 hour session at Capitol Grille for $95. That's right, a complete lunch at Capitol Grille and etiquette training for only $95, in my opinion a pretty sweet deal.

I suppose all things considered, I should have been nervous about having lunch with an etiquette coach but I wasn't. Realistically, I was paying her to tell me how dumb I am so I was hoping that I would mess up a few times.

Capitol Grille is an interesting restaurant and wasn't what I was expecting at all. The interior design is a reflection of a Country Club up north, complete with deer heads hanging on the walls and portraits of old men. To be honest I wasn't a huge fan, however the food made up for it.

The first step of learning how to eat involved knowing where all of the utensils go on the table, which ones are yours and which ones to use first (work outside in). Then the hardest part of all... we practiced cutting. Please note at this time we didn't have any food yet.....we were cutting imaginary food. However with my imaginary food I learned that you aren't suppose to "saw" at your food and you're suppose to eat with your left hand (if your right handed).

Once we finished practicing on imaginary food, our server brought out the most delectable French Onion soup I have ever tasted. But, how do you eat French Onion soup properly? You're suppose to cut the large crouton using your spoon on the side of the bowl and then to take a bite.

The saddest part about getting etiquette training is that you're not there to eat. What I really wanted to do when I saw the bowl of French Onion soup was to dip my head right in and enjoy, however instead I had to properly cut and then taste every bite.

Moving along Capitol Grille next served a perfectly grilled 8oz fillet with a side of mashed potatoes. The fillet was so tender and juicy I could have cut it with my fork and eaten it the way I really wanted to. However, per Patricia Rossi's guidance I had to eat the proper way and use my knife and fork as they are supposed to be used. While at first I didn't enjoy this, it did make me slow down and actually savor the food I was eating.

Capitol Grille prepares a phenomenal steak, their amazing food complimented by their world class service made this one of my all time favorite dining experiences. They anticipate your needs, exceed your expectations and their servers are wildly intelligent.

At the end of my experience I left with a full stomach and a full mind. Test me, I dare you. Sure I dropped my fork a couple of times and I took more free bread than I was supposed to, but now for the first time I actually know how to eat like a gentleman.

So be on the look out, next time you see me I'll be the classy guy using his knife and fork the right way and drinking his beverage without a straw.

Jealous?

Dream Blizzard

Spring was always an exciting time of year.

Not because of spring cleaning, or rain or the blooming of flowers. Spring was special for one reason only: Girl Scout Cookies.

Every spring, Girl Scouts appear out of no where. Like a herd of stampeding cattle they show up on the side of the street, in front of grocery stores, and in your office buildings. At every destination they only have one goal in mind: sell Girl Scout cookies.

When we were kids, my Dad's office was no different and one magical day in March he would come home with boxes upon boxes of Girl Scout cookies. Then, the fight began. My brother and I only liked two kinds of cookies: Tagalongs and Thin Mints. Not trusting one another we would split the boxes evenly and take our portion of boxes up to our rooms and hide them.

There was always one problem: my brother never changed his hiding spot. So, it didn't take me long to find them and once I finished off my boxes I slowly finished his as well....taking one cookie at a time very slowly. Evil, I know.

To this very day I adore Tagalong Girl Scout Cookies. The rich chocolate combined with the crunchy cookie on the bottom and peanut butter inside tastes like a a piece of heaven.

For this reason, you can imagine how excited I was when Dairy Queen announced their Blizzard of the Month was a Tagalong Blizzard. Last night I got my first taste of the new Blizzard. I'll be honest, I am slightly bias. With my love for Tagalongs it was almost impossible for DQ to mess this up.

The Tagalong cookies were crushed up and the pieces of cookie, peanut butter and chocolate were blending in the DQ ice cream beautifully. The peanut butter and crunchy cookie all mixed up into the ice cream tasted even better than the cookie by itself. This was probably one of the best Blizzards I have ever had. In other words, this is a Tagalong lovers' dream blizzard. I'm petitioning DQ to move this Blizzard onto their menu permanently.

The bad news is, it's only here for a short time and once it's gone I doubt I'll be able to steal this Blizzard from my brother.

Taco Bell Takes No Ingredients from Nature

We all love Taco Bell. We all know that the "quality" of their food is often questionable.

Finally to answer all of our unanswerable questions, The Onion News Network has provided this breaking news about Taco Bell's latest food creations. I'll let you decide if you want to believe this story is true or not.




Can't see the video? Click Here.

Crazy for Crispers

For years I have been searching.

Where can we find a restaurant that is like Panera only better? A better version of Panera would be a place that offers quality food at a reasonable price in an inviting atmosphere and has outstanding service....

Crispers is that place.

Before my most recent visit I had only been there once before several years ago. It was a bad experience...service was poor, food was overpriced, and the atmosphere was reminiscent of a high school cafeteria.

My wife went back to Crispers about a month ago and it was so good she went two more times that same week. From her ongoing praise I decided it was time to go back.

Here's what Crispers does that Panera doesn't:

The employees are friendly. When I couldn't decide what to order, the employee opened up a menu and made several suggestions. He read our order back to us and was more than happy to make any special changes to what we ordered without giving us a problem.

Great variety and the ability to customize. They have countless salads, sandwiches, sides and flat breads. There is an endless amount of choices and you can combine them any way you like. See for yourself. As mentioned above, they offer you the choice of bread you want on your sandwich (however I encourage you to always pick Asiago Cheese). They ASK you if you want something special changed to your meal. Have you ever tried to change the bread on your sandwich at Panera? Chances are if you have, the employee responded with a dramatic eye-roll and a sigh of frustration.

Service. You know that pager at Panera? The one they give you so you can sit and wait but everyone stands at the counter anyway? There is no pager at Crispers and there is no counter to wait at. They take it a step further and deliver your food to you based on the number on your table. OH and when you're done they come pick up the dishes for you. Say goodbye to bus tubs and overflowing trash cans.

It tastes good, it's high quality and the portion is huge. I ordered the half Pulled Pork Carnitas Sandwich and a cup of potato soup. Crispers pulls their pork in their restaurant. The flavoring of the pork plus the BBQ sauce and topped off with the Asiago Cheese bread tasted like a summer BBQ dream. The "cup" at Crispers is double the size of the "cup" at Panera and that creamy potato soup was sensational.

Two words: Kids Club. If you have a kid and even if you don't the Kid's Club at Crispers is by far the best thing of all. A kids grilled cheese costs $3.99 and you can select your type of bread. It's served with a side of potato chips and the best part? A wooden coin. I know, sounds crazy however this wooden coin is good for a free kids sized gelato at the end of your meal. You just take the coin up to the counter and they'll give you your choice of creamy, sweet, rich, fantastic gelato. The gelato normally is extremely expensive so even if you don't have a kid you should probably considering ordering the kids meal anyway.

Friendly employees, quality food, a nice warm atmosphere, and the added bonus is gelato. Crispers is everything that Panera wishes they could be. From now on you'll know where to find me. I'll be that guy at Crispers claiming my daughter's wooden coin for my own personal gelato.

You can find your nearest Crispers here.